Transition to adulthood planning

Assessment

To prepare for transition to adulthood planning as part of the young person's case plan, you need updated information from the young person, their carers and other members of their safety and support network. (Refer to The young person’s safety and support network.)

Explore the different aspects of transition to adulthood planning with the young person. The CREATE Foundation Go your own way info kit is a great resource to use with young people in the transition to adulthood planning process. For further information about this kit, refer to the section Go your own way info kit.

Planning

Gather ideas from the young person about what they would like to work on as they prepare for adulthood, and about resources that might help.

Identify some goals and prioritise these. If you start planning early, you don’t need to work on everything at once. Start with what interests the young person and any urgent needs.

Consult with other important people—such as carers and parents for ideas. Arrange for an independent person to help facilitate an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young person’s participation in planning, if the young person consents to this.

Get the right people from the young person’s network together for a family group meeting and update the case plan to include transition to adulthood planning.

The transition to adulthood plan may be one or more of the actions identified in the case plan, especially if the young person is in long-term care and their case plan is primarily about their care needs.

CSOs need to consider the following to ensure a complete plan:

• identity and culture
• relationships and support networks
• health and wellbeing (including physical, emotional, mental, sexual and dental health)
• housing/a place to live
• education and employment
• life skills
• financial security.

If the young person is eligible for support from Victim Assist Queensland include actions about this in the case plan. Refer to Young people who have been victims of crime in this kit.

Implementation

Revisit the plan during home visits with the young person and check on progress. Record this in a case note.

Make sure to complete any tasks required in a timely way to support the young person in putting their plan into action.

Check in regularly with carers, parents and other network members about how the actions are progressing.

Review

Regular check-ins and assessments of progress will make a formal review easy.

You need to review the case plan, including the transition to adulthood plan, at least every six months with the young person and their main support people.

The plan can then be revised to ensure it is still meeting needs, addressing any emerging needs and shifting priorities as the young person makes progress.

Key features of transition to adulthood planning

The process of developing a transition to adulthood plan includes identifying the young person's goals, aspirations, wants and needs. The plan is based on an assessment of the young person's strengths, the areas in which they require development and their ongoing needs.

Transition to adulthood plans are integrated with case plans from the age of 15 and start to encourage the young person to consider their future hopes and ambitions.

The plan will identify the steps for preparing for the transition and the kinds of support and assistance they will receive. Key features of transition to adulthood planning include the following:

• The young person is central to planning processes and activities, and is empowered to be an active, informed participant.
• The young person is encouraged and supported to exercise increased responsibility for decision making and choices about their life.
• Planning is focused on the developmental and legal aspects of transitioning from being in care to independence and adulthood, underpinned by the resources and practical assistance needed to support the process.
• Transition to adulthood planning continues throughout the phases of preparation, transition and after care. It may continue to 25 years of age with after-care support services.
• When a young person has left care, a support service case may be opened by Child Safety for a defined period to ensure that all case plan goals have been implemented, if agreed to by the young person. This can be done in partnership with Child Safety staff, the young person and an after-care service, for example, Next Step Plus, to continue planning and implementation.

The young person has one flexible transition to adulthood plan that addresses all of their needs and involves all stakeholders involved in providing the required support, resources and services to meet their needs. The plan moves with the young person. If they move from one geographical area to another or from one service to another, their plan goes with them.

After care, the planning and delivery of services may be coordinated by the young person’s Extended Post Care Support provider, or by a Next Step Plus service, for young people not accessing Extended Post Care Support.

Australian and international research suggests that young people have better transitions when this planning is thorough, timely and properly resourced.